Overlawyered » EEOC http://overlawyered.com Chronicling the high cost of our legal system Tue, 14 Feb 2012 11:28:52 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 Diploma requirements may violate ADA: EEOC http://overlawyered.com/2012/01/diploma-requirements-may-violate-ada-eeoc/ http://overlawyered.com/2012/01/diploma-requirements-may-violate-ada-eeoc/#comments Sat, 07 Jan 2012 11:24:26 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=26655 Requiring a high school diploma of applicants for a given job may improperly screen out those with learning disability, according to the federal agency. I’ve got more at Cato at Liberty.

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]]> http://overlawyered.com/2012/01/diploma-requirements-may-violate-ada-eeoc/feed/ 16 Employment law roundup http://overlawyered.com/2011/12/employment-law-roundup-2/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/12/employment-law-roundup-2/#comments Thu, 15 Dec 2011 05:05:36 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=26086
  • Age discrimination law (including my views) discussed [Reihan Salam, NRO] “3d Cir.: Employees Fired for Pornographic Emails Lose Age-Discrimination Case” [Molly DiBianca]
  • Will Obama administration lawsuit derail employer use of career-readiness certificates? [Charlotte Allen, Minding the Campus]
  • A warning for Gov. Cuomo: “The case against pension-financed infrastructure” [Edward Zelinsky, OUP]
  • EEOC is on the warpath and employers had better hope they escape unscathed [Hans Bader, CEI]
  • Since we know unemployment extensions have no incentive effects, this story from the Midwest is purely imaginary [Marietta, Ohio Times, related]
  • Court rejects “announcement of same sex marriage harassed me” hostile environment claim [Volokh] “Jobs with a higher risk of sexual harassment pay workers more” [WaPo] Half of all students harassed? Surprising it’s only half [Katie Roiphe, NYT]
  • Funny-sad “666″ workplace suit: “The safety sticker of the beast” [Volokh]
  • “Do you know what an employment lawsuit costs?” [Jon Hyman]
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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2011/12/employment-law-roundup-2/feed/ 2     EEOC sues construction company for not hiring applicant with epilepsy to run heavy equipment http://overlawyered.com/2011/12/eeoc-sues-construction-company-for-not-hiring-applicant-with-epilepsy-to-run-heavy-equipment/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/12/eeoc-sues-construction-company-for-not-hiring-applicant-with-epilepsy-to-run-heavy-equipment/#comments Tue, 13 Dec 2011 12:29:11 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=26040 The EEOC’s press release is not entirely clear about the events giving rise to the dispute, but it appears that Georgia Power through its subcontractor requires that heavy equipment operators on a certain project be qualified to pass the federal Department of Transportation’s physical exam for truckers; that applicant Bryan Mimmovich cannot pass that exam because of his controlled epilepsy; and that the EEOC is now arguing that it is discriminatory for the employer to adopt the DOT physical requirements for the equipment operation job.

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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2011/12/eeoc-sues-construction-company-for-not-hiring-applicant-with-epilepsy-to-run-heavy-equipment/feed/ 14     Hotel chain will pay $132,500 for dismissing autistic desk clerk http://overlawyered.com/2011/11/hotel-chain-will-pay-132500-for-dismissing-autistic-desk-clerk/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/11/hotel-chain-will-pay-132500-for-dismissing-autistic-desk-clerk/#comments Sun, 27 Nov 2011 18:07:04 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=25922 The EEOC says Comfort Suites dismissed the clerk when it should instead have accepted the services of a state-paid “job coach” who might have “helped the clerk learn to master his job by using autism-specific training techniques.” [EEOC press release, Fox San Diego]

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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2011/11/hotel-chain-will-pay-132500-for-dismissing-autistic-desk-clerk/feed/ 12     EEOC vs. the ministerial exception http://overlawyered.com/2011/10/eeoc-vs-the-ministerial-exception/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/10/eeoc-vs-the-ministerial-exception/#comments Thu, 06 Oct 2011 13:29:56 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=24975 Argued yesterday before the Supreme Court, the case of Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. EEOC pits the quasi-religion of employment discrimination law against organized religion of every other sort. Guess which side the Obama administration comes down on? I explain in a new op-ed at The Daily Caller. More background: Christopher Lund (Wayne State), “In Defense of the Ministerial Exception”, North Carolina Law Review/SSRN. And per Rick Garnett at NRO “Bench Memos,” the Court’s justices in their questioning yesterday did not appear friendly toward the idea of overthrowing the exception (& followup). According to the L.A. Times and other reporting, Justice Kagan described the Justice Department’s position as “amazing.” More: Marcia McCormick, Workplace Prof (linking to transcript of oral argument, PDF)(& welcome Damon Root/Reason “Hit and Run” readers).

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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2011/10/eeoc-vs-the-ministerial-exception/feed/ 2     Faced with federal suit, Arizona quits monitoring teachers’ English fluency http://overlawyered.com/2011/09/faced-with-federal-suit-arizona-quits-monitoring-teachers-english-fluency/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/09/faced-with-federal-suit-arizona-quits-monitoring-teachers-english-fluency/#comments Mon, 26 Sep 2011 14:12:10 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=24788 My new Cato post points out that while this may be craziness, it’s craziness with a long pedigree:

    It was way back in the first Bush administration that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) began filing lawsuits against employers for “discriminating” against employees with difficult-to-understand or heavily accented speech, the theory being that this served as an improper proxy for discrimination based on national origin. The scope for allowable exceptions was exceedingly narrow, too narrow to cover most teaching positions, as I wrote quite a while back when the issue had just come over the horizon in a Massachusetts case. Indeed, the National Education Association (I pointed out) had been prevailed on to pass a resolution “decrying disparate treatment on the basis of ‘pronunciation’ — quite a switch from the old days when teachers used to be demons for correctness on that topic.”

    Read the whole thing here (& Alkon, Peter Pappas/Tax Lawyer’s Blog, Bader). Another view: Josh Hanson.

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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2011/09/faced-with-federal-suit-arizona-quits-monitoring-teachers-english-fluency/feed/ 10     “Will restricting criminal background checks actually increase minority unemployment?” http://overlawyered.com/2011/09/will-restricting-criminal-background-checks-actually-increase-minority-unemployment/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/09/will-restricting-criminal-background-checks-actually-increase-minority-unemployment/#comments Wed, 21 Sep 2011 05:24:06 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=24715 One of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s current big projects — making it legally hazardous for employers to check job applicants’ criminal records — could actually backfire, according to research cited by some members of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights [Caroline May, Daily Caller]:

    Civil Rights Commissioners Peter Kirsanow, Gail Heriot and Todd Gaziano pointed to research from economists Harry Holzer and Stephen Rafael and public policy professor Michael Stoll, published in the Journal of Law and Economics, which showed that employers with access to background checks are actually more likely to hire African Americans, especially African American men, than those without access to that informaion.

    “Their results suggest that, in the absence of criminal background checks, some employers discriminate statistically against black men and/or those with weak employment records,” the commissioners pointed out in their letter to the EEOC.

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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2011/09/will-restricting-criminal-background-checks-actually-increase-minority-unemployment/feed/ 0     August 30 roundup http://overlawyered.com/2011/08/august-30-roundup-2/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/08/august-30-roundup-2/#comments Tue, 30 Aug 2011 14:28:25 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=24307
  • “He coulda been a credenza”: actor’s estate sues over unauthorized “Brando” furniture line [The Daily via Balko] “Motorcycle Gang Sues Over ‘My Boyfriend’s A Hell’s Angel’ T-Shirt” [CBS-LA]
  • EEOC decries employer discrimination on the basis of applicants’ criminal records, recommends curbing background checks [WSJ Law Blog, FastCasual, Hyman, Greenfield] Bill in San Francisco would make felons a protected class in jobs, housing [Fox]
  • Why are Obama officials intent on reducing due process protections for those accused of campus sexual misconduct? [Silverglate, WSJ; Philadelphia Magazine, Samantha Harris/NY Post, Ciamarella, Daily Caller (AAUP objects to plan); links at SAVE] A contrasting view [Roderick Hills, Prawfsblawg]
  • 9th Circuit rejects Bluetooth class action settlement to which Ted Frank’s CCAF objected [Fisher, NLJ, Frank]
  • Lawyer who represents jogger in product liability suit expects to file more actions claiming Skechers sneakers responsible for falls [BLT]
  • Part of a balanced breakfast: “Why the lawsuit against Nutella is bunk” [Nadia Arumugam, Slate] Update: Judge denies motion to dismiss [Russell Jackson]
  • Experts agree it’s OK to nominate Overlawyered for an ABA “100 Best Legal Blogs” slot here.
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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2011/08/august-30-roundup-2/feed/ 4     Long hair as religious accommodation http://overlawyered.com/2011/08/long-hair-as-religious-accommodation/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/08/long-hair-as-religious-accommodation/#comments Fri, 05 Aug 2011 05:16:13 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=24157 Taco Bell finds itself at odds with the EEOC. [Jon Hyman]

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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2011/08/long-hair-as-religious-accommodation/feed/ 14     “Has the ADA swallowed the FMLA for employee medical leaves?” http://overlawyered.com/2011/04/has-the-ada-swallowed-the-fmla-for-employee-medical-leaves/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/04/has-the-ada-swallowed-the-fmla-for-employee-medical-leaves/#comments Tue, 19 Apr 2011 14:22:54 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=22603 Under the banner of combating discrimination against the disabled, Congress and the EEOC may together have quietly instituted a fairly momentous extension of the regime of federally mandated workplace benefits — in particular, imposing on even very small employers a new obligation to hold the jobs of employees taking some kinds of leave. [Hyman]

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